POSTGAME NOTES: Houston 52, Navy 31
11/27/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
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BY THE NUMBERS
1
Houston will host the first ever American Athletic Conference Championship game on Dec. 5.
2
Junior Brandon Wilson scored two touchdowns, the first two offensive TDs of his career.
7
The Cougars are 7-0 when playing at home.
7
The Cougars have now scored seven touchdowns on the opening drives this season.
14
Houston defense held Navy to just 14 points in the first half.
17
Greg Ward Jr. has 17 wins as the Cougars' starting quarterback.
21
Houston's national ranking in the latest Associated Press poll.
24
Most points given up by Navy in the first half.
31
Houston's defense has allowed only 31 points in the third quarter all season.
45
Junior kicker Ty Cummings drilled a career-high 45-yard field goal.
52
Houston scored 50+ points for the fourth time this season.
100
Brandon Wilson recorded his first career 100-yard game.
111
Brandon Wilson recorded 111 rushing yards on 22 carries.
308
Total Passing Yards for Greg Ward, third 300-yard passing game of his career.
555
Most yards of Total offense allowed by Navy this season.
40,562
Friday's attendance inside TDECU Stadium.
236,115
Total attendance at TDECU Stadium for the 2015 regular season.
GAME NOTES
• Houston defeated Navy, 52-31, to improve to 415-352-15 all-time.
• With the win, Houston improved to 11-1 on the year and 7-1 in American Athletic Conference play.
• Houston claimed the American Athletic Conference West Championship and will host the American Athletic Conference Championship game on Dec. 5. The Cougars will face Temple or USF depending on the outcome of Saturday's Temple-UConn game.
• Houston stayed undefeated when playing at home this season. The Cougars' last home loss was Nov. 8, 2014 when Tulane defeated UH 31-24 on Homecoming.
• Navy won the toss and deferred to the second half. Senior running back Kenneth Farrow, offensive tackle Alex Cooper, safety Adrian McDonald and linebacker Elandon Roberts were captains.
• With the 40,562 attendance at Friday's game, Houston's total season attendance is 236,115. This record is the third most in school history and the highest attendance since the Astrodome in 1967.
IN THE RANKINGS
• This marks the seventh consecutive week in which the Cougars were ranked in both the Associated Press and Amway Coaches' polls.
• Houston is 103-38-3 when ranked in the Associated Press poll.
• The Cougars are 98-32-2 in regular-season games when ranked in the Associated Press poll.
HOUSTON vs. RANKED OPPONENTS
• Houston is 33-95-5 when playing ranked opponents.
• Friday's game is the second time that Houston has faced a ranked opponent this season and the Cougars won both games.
• The Cougars are 2-4 when facing the 16th-ranked team in the Associated Press poll.
• Friday's game marked the first time Houston faced the Associated Press' 16th-ranked team since a 18-17 loss at No. 16 Arizona State on Sept. 18, 1971, in Tempe, Ariz., and is the first time Houston has faced the Associated Press' 16th-ranked team at home since a 45-7 win over No. 16 Texas Tech on Nov. 19, 1977, inside Robertson Stadium.
• The Cougars are 11-10-2 against ranked opponents during the regular season.
• The Cougars are 8-4-1 against ranked opponents at home.
• Houston is 15-14-3 in games in which both teams are ranked. In its last game with both teams ranked, then No. 16/16 Houston defeated No. 25/25 Memphis 35-34 on Nov. 14 in the biggest comeback by an FBS school this season.
OFFENSE
• The Cougars have now scored in 197 consecutive games. Houston has not been shut out since a 48-0 loss to Texas on Sept. 23, 2000.
• Greg Ward Jr.'s 5-yard TD pass in the opening drive is now the seventh TD during the Cougars' opening drive this season.
• Houston capped a 13-play, 75-yard drive with a 17-yard rushing touchdown by Brandon Wilson, the first offensive TD of his career and fifth of the season for the junior.
• Houston's third scoring drive of the game ended with a 5-yard rushing touchdown by Greg Ward Jr., his 17th of the season.
• Junior kicker Ty Cummings drilled a career-long 45-yard field goal to extend Houston's lead 24-14 heading into the half.
• The 24 points scored in the first half by the Cougars ties the most the Navy defense has allowed in the first half this season. The last time the Midshipmen allowed 24 points in the first half was at Notre Dame on Oct. 10, 2015.
• Sophomore receiver Linell Bonner was responsible for two more touchdowns in the second half. He caught a 4-yard pass from Ward in the opening drive of the second half and a 29-yarder from Demarcus Ayers in the fourth quarter.
• Wilson scored his second touchdown of the game on a 2-yard carry with 41 seconds left in the game.
• With 52 points scored on Friday, Houston has now scored 40+ points in six games this season and have scored 50+ points in four games this season.
• Houston's 555 yards of total offense is the most yards the Navy Defense has allowed this season. The yardage surpasses the 459 total yards given up by Notre Dame on Oct. 10, 2015.
DEFENSE
• The Cougar Defense held Navy to just 14 points in the first half. The Midshipmen entered the game averaging 21.3 points in the first half.
• With one turnover in Friday's game (1 Interception), Houston's defense has forced 101 turnovers dating back to the 2013 season. Senior safety Trevon Stewart picked off Navy during the opening play of the second half.
• The Cougars have allowed only 31 points in the third quarter all season, outscoring its opponents 120-31.
• Houston's defense held Navy to a time of possession of 26:16, the lowest TOP of this season for the Midshipmen.
• Today is the second time in 34 games that Navy has been held to under 200 rushing yards.
Greg Ward Jr.
• Junior quarterback Greg Ward, Jr. improved to 17-2 as Houston's starting quarterback. Ward ties D.C. Nobles (1972-73) for fifth place in Houston history with 17 wins. Up next in the Houston records book is Danny Davis (1976-78) who posted 20 wins as the Cougars' starter.
• Ward has won his last 12 starts overall and his last eight home starts. Ward is 9-1 as the Cougars' starting quarterback at home with only a 31-24 loss to Tulane in the annual Homecoming game on Nov. 8, 2014, on his record.
• Ward leads the Cougars with a .894 (17-2) winning percentage as starting quarterback. He passed Gary Mullins who posted a .833 (25-5) percentage. They are the only quarterbacks in school history with 10+ starts and a winning percentage over .800.
• Ward led the Cougars as he went 26-for-35 with 308 passing yards and 83 rushing yards. Ward recorded his third career 300-yard passing game and first of the year.
• Ward scrambled for a 5-yard touchdown to put Houston up 21-14 during the second half marking his 17th rushing TD of the season and 25th of his career. Ward extends his single-season school record with the score.
• With his 308 yards on Friday, Ward has totaled 4,822 career passing yards for the 9th most in school history. Next up on the list is Jimmy Klingler (1991-93) who threw for 5,243 career yards.
• With his 391 yards of total offense, Ward ranks seventh in school history with 6,463 of total career offense. Up next on the list is Chuck Clements (1993-96) with 6,893 yards of total offense in his career.
Brandon Wilson
• Junior cornerback Brandon Wilson started his first career game at running back. He led the Cougars on a career day with 22 carries for 111 yards and two touchdowns.
• Wilson scored on a 17-yard rush and later in the game on a 2-yard carry to seal the win for the Cougars. The two TDs marked the first and second offensive touchdowns of his career and fifth and sixth touchdowns of the season.
• Wilson became the third UH player with 100 rushing yards in a game this season, joining Kenneth Farrow (4) and Greg Ward Jr. (3).
Steven Dunbar
• Sophomore Steven Dunbar caught a 5-yard touchdown pass from Greg Ward Jr. marking his third touchdown of the season.
Trevon Stewart
• Senior safety Trevon Stewart intercepted Navy's Keenan Reynolds in the first play of the second half. The interception marked the second of the season, 10th of his career.
Demarcus Ayers
• With his 161 receiving yards Friday afternoon, junior wide receiver Demarcus Ayers becomes the 18th Cougar in school history to record 1,000+ yards in a single season. The game also marked the junior's fourth career 100-yard game of his career, all of which came this season.
• The Cougars' Double Pass play in the second half led to Ayers' first career touchdown pass as he connected with Linell Bonner for a 29-yard score.
Ty Cummings
• Junior kicker Ty Cummings pushed the Cougars lead to 24-14 entering the half with a career-long 45 yard field goal.
Linell Bonner
• Sophomore wide receiver Linell Bonner caught a 4-yard pass from Greg Ward Jr. to increase Houston's lead to 31-14 in the third quarter. The TD was the fourth of the season and fourth of his career.
• Bonner scored his second touchdown of the game was a 29-yard pass from Demarcus Ayers in the fourth quarter. He now has five TDs on the season and his career.
• Bonner also had a career day as he recorded 92 yards on seven catches and two touchdown catches, one from Ward and one from Ayers.
Elandon Roberts
• Senior linebacker Elandon Roberts had seven tackles on the day and a career-high 4.5 tackles for loss. Roberts also recorded a career-high 2.5 sacks.
Matthew Adams
• Sophomore linebacker Matthew Adams recorded his second consecutive double-digit tackle game and third of his career with 11 tackles against the Midshipmen.
Adrian McDonald
• Senior safety Adrian McDonald recorded 10 tackles against the Midshipmen for his second double-digit tackle game of the season.
